Photographic-camera shutter



(N0 Model.)

G P. KINOAID.

PHOTOGRAPHIG CAMERA SHUTTER.

No. 444,861. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

WITNESSES [WEI 2'07? WW, m vmw yyyydggw m. (1 46 k MO .zliiorney,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. KINOAID, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PHOTOGRAPHlC-CAMERA SHUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,361, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed March 7, 1889. Serial No. 302,255, (No model.)

T0 at 1071,0770 it may concern:

1 3e it known that I. GEORGE F. KINOAID, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photographic- Camera Shutters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mechanism for operating camera-shutters and certain attachments therefor which enlarge the capacity and operation of the shutter.

It has for its object the provision of improved mechanism for operating the wings, for releasing and controlling the operation of the same, and for regulating the speed of such operation; also improved means for regulating the size of the sight-opening, and means for applying lenses of diiferent powers and at different distances from the sightopening, and a separate pneumatic cylinder with certain novel and peculiar connections for increasing the utilityand effectiveness of the shutter.

The following detailed description will more fully explain the nature and purpose of the said invention and the manner in which I carry it into practice.

The accompanying drawings illustrate what I consider the best means for carrying niyinvention into practice.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the shutter. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 1s a side elevation of same, partly in section. Fig. alis a face view of the wings in the case. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one wing.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a threaded collar used upon the case.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A is the case of the shutter, which is constructed in the usualway and of the common triangular shape and has a sight-opening which the wings A A of the shutter are caused to close and expose according as they are operated. The wings are pivoted at p in the narrow end of the case and are operated by a pin 0 on a slide 72', which latter projects through the top of the case and may be depressed preparatory to the operation by simply pressing upon its upper end with the hand. The pin 0 works in slots formed in the wings. These slots are of peculiar form being made with straight central portions j, extending ateach end into inward curves j j, which curves change their course near the ends and terminate parallel with the central straight portions, as shown at f. The effect of this form is to lock the wings in a closed position when the pin 0 is in the portions at either end, open the wings when the pin is traversing the curved portions j, and hold them open while traversingthe central straight portions j. The pin 0 projects through the face of the case A, and on one side is controlled by mechanism which can be set to produce short or long exposure, as maybe desired. The upward movement of the pin is produced by aspring is, which is attached to a pivot-piece 71:, against which a regulatingcam Z is operated to set the spring to press under the pin with more or less force, as may be desired. The pin is held in its depressed position by means of a shoulder (Z in a slot (Z of a bell crank lever F, whose vertical portion F,with slotcl, lies over the slot in the case in which the pin moves and whose horizontal portion .or limb F extends out to the side of the case. The lever F is pivoted at the bottom of the slot to the case A. The limb F is engaged by a projection upon the piston of a pneumatic cylinder f, to the end 9 of which a flexible tube with a bulb is attached.

I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the flexible tube and bulb, as the construction and operation of such are well understood. hen the bulb is compressed and the piston in cylinderf forced up, the lever F will be turned on its pivot and the shoulder d disengaged from the pin 0, which will be forced up by spring 7; with greater or less rapidity, according to the tension of the spring, as before described. This will give an instantaneous picture.

Upon the vertical limb of the lever F are pivoted stops 1) and I), which are controlled by notched cam-levers a and a, respectively, which are also pivoted upon the lever F, as shown. When the cam-levers are in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1, the stops 1) and b are out of the line of travel of the pin; but either one of the cam-levers a or a may be turned upward to throw the lower end of its respective stop into line to be engaged by the pin, as is indicated by dotted lines in the same figure.

The limb l? of lever F rests, when in its lowest position, upon a cam or stop f which can be turned to stop thelever at a lower or higher level, so as to be operated by the piston in the cylinder fat different points of its travel.

E E are threaded collars, which I attach one upon the front and one upon the rear face of the shutter. These collars are supplied for the purpose of affording a means for attachin g lenses. They are not intended tosupport the lenses direct, but are to afford a means for engaging separable extension-tubes, as E, which can be screwed upon the collars and which carry the lenses. The relative position of the lenses with respect to the shutter can thus be changed as desired, as well as the desired power of lens obtained without any difficulty.

I have provided a sight-opening regulator which consists of two diaphragms centrally pivoted in the case to revolve in the same circle, each having an opening as large as the sight-opening in the case, and in addition thereto a series of graduated openings, those on one disk being a continuation of those on the other in regular order or in any order desired. The disks are marked M M and are pivoted in the case at m. The large openings in the case are marked m m, and the series of smaller graduated openings are not lettered. It will be seen that with these two disks any-sized sight-openings can be obtained by suitably turning them to bring the desired opening in one or the other over the sight-opening. A solid space m* is preferably left on one of the diaphragms, so as to enable the sight-opening to be entirely closed by the diaphragms, if desired, and thus ob viate the possibility of leakage.

Upon the back face of the case, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided additional mechanism, which adds to the shutter capacity for various novel operations, the principal one of which is to en able an operator to take his own picture without touching any trip mechanism or compressing a bulb, as is ordinarily done, to start the operation.

A second cylinder-q, with piston :10, is pro- Ivided at one edge of the case, the piston having a screw-threaded rod extending upward through the top of the cylinder and provided with two nuts u and c, which are adjustable up and down upon the rod.

A lever t, pivoted at w to the case, takes the pin 0, which projects through the back of the case also in a slot to, and is moved up and down with it. 'lwo'transverse stop-levers r r are held across the slot by trip-levers s s, which trip-levers are acted upon by the nuts u and 1) when the piston :1: descends. \Vhen the lever t is placed above one or the other nut, the elevation of the piston a: Wlll cause the elevation of the pin a, and in such condition the spring 76 upon the opposite slde of the case can be dispensed with, or the lever 25 may be set under a nut on the pistonrod, when the elevation of the lever by the spring k, which is used in this operation, will elevate the piston. the purposes of which two modes of operation will presently be explained. V

Cylinder q is provided at its lower end with a projection 5 which has a tapering hole 5* in its side, (with the point upward,) and a cap r is screwed upon projection s in the operation when the lever is to lift the piston to any desired height to open more or less of the hole 5 When the pin 0 is at the bottom of the slot and the piston x at or near the bottom of cylinder q and the cap r in place, the shutter is held closed until the cap 1' is unscrewed far enough to uncover the entire or a portion of the opening 3 which will admit air under the piston and permit the force of spring 70 to elevate pin 0, lever 15, and piston 00 at a speed regulated by the degree of opening uncovered in aperture 8 which controls the admission of air to the cylinder under the piston 09. In connection Wit-h this means of operation the lever F may still be retained and the cylinder f employed to start the upward movement, if desired. In the operation just described the levers r r are not used.

A rubber band 00 may be affixed to the cylinder q and run over the head on top of the piston-rod,which will insure and accelerate the descent of the piston in an operation in taking ones own picture or the picture of others instantaneously. In this operation lever t is removed from pin 0 and the levers r 7" and their trip-levers s s set, as shown in the drawings, Fig. 2, and the piston 00 elevated, as shown. Set the cap r to open aperture 5 the desired extent to regulate the rapidity of the escape of air and control the descent of the piston. Then release piston or in any convenient manner and trip the lever F to release the pin a, which will rise by force of spring 70 until it reaches stop r, where it will remainand hold the shutter open until nuts or projections on the piston-rod trip the lever s s and allow the pin to ascend and open and close the shutter. It will be seen that the nuts must be set so that not u will release lever 8 a little before nut 12 relieves lever s, and the result is a brief time in which the shutter is open, or the nuts may be set to trip both levers at the same time and the movement of the pin is not checked. The time between starting the piston x in itsdescent and the tripping of lever s' can be regulated bythe amount of opening uncovered in the aperture s. The piston or is packed in cylinder q by a suitable packing-bamil and it works air-tight.

The lever t is provided with a spring-bean ing i to make the action even.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A photographic camera shutter wing having a slot composed of a straight central vertical portion and inwardly-extending end portions joining the straight central portion at its ends and terminating at the ends in short straight portions parallel with the straight central portion, as set forth.

2. In a photographic-camera shutter, the combination, with slotted wings and the pin for operating them, of a spring acting upon said pin, a pivoted support for said pin, and a cam for regulating the position of the support and the force of the pin, as set forth.

3. In a pliotographic-camera shutter, the combination, with slotted wings and operatingpin therefor, of a bell-crank lever having one limb connected to a pneumatic cylinder and a slot in the other limb through which the operating-pin works, and a shoulder in said slot for engaging the pin, as set forth.

1-. In a photographic-camera shutter, the combination, with the operating-pin for the wings, of a pivoted bell-crank lever having a slot, as described, and one or more stop-levers pivoted to the bell-crank lever, and one or more notched cam-arms or levers for operating the stop lover or levers, as set forth.

5. In a photographic-cainera shutter, the combination, with the case having the sightopening, of two concentrically-pivoted disks, each having an aperture coextensive with the sight-opening, and a series of smaller apertures graduated upon both disks, as set forth.

(3. In a photographic-camera shutter, the combination, with the case having the sightopening, of two or more concentrically-pivoted disks, each of which has an aperture coextensive with the sight-opening, and a series of smaller graduated openings, and one of said disks being provided with an imperforate space large enough to cover the sight-opening, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix m y signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE F. KINCAID.

\Vitnesses:

LEWIS B. HARRIS, HARRY B. irosmsnn. 

